Not Applicable.
The present invention relates to automotive service equipment, and more particularly to computerized vehicle wheel alignment systems configured with software applications to exchange information with, and utilize software components stored on, remote computers in communication with the computerized vehicle wheel alignment systems via a computer network.
It is desirable that a computer associated with an automotive diagnostic or service system such as a vehicle wheel alignment system include an operating system which is fully compatible with local and global computer networks, such as the Internet, to exchange information with remote computers and databases. Examples of such currently available 32-bit operating systems include the Linux family of products and Microsoft Windows(trademark) OS family of products. Such operating system are capable of running Internet browser software such as Microsoft""s Internet Explorer or Netscape""s Communicator, and may include the Windows(trademark) OS family of products (such as Windows 2000, Windows CE/PocketPC, Windows ME, Windows XP) and Palm Computing""s Palm-OS products. Future operating systems utilizing a 64-bit, 128-bit, or 2n-bit bases are anticipated as suitable logical extensions of current operating systems as computer hardware technology improves. Additional computing products on which vehicle wheel alignment systems having Internet access may be implemented include tablet-type computers, wearable computers, and pocket-type computers, both of which would be form factors highly suited for use in an automotive repair shop environment.
Computers included in traditional vehicle wheel alignment systems may provide limited access to a network of computers (e.g., LAN) and to the Internet, but generally do not integrate the Internet into associated automotive service, maintenance, repair or inspection software, such as wheel alignment applications. Instead, the computer operates as would any other PC, configured to browse the Internet without fully integrating the Internet into the software applications to utilize the availability of remote access and information exchange.
Conventional distributed application logic utilizes a distributed software object module system such as Microsoft""s Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM). The problem with DCOM and other similar systems is that they don""t scale to the Internet. Their reliance on tightly coupling the consumer of a service (i.e. software module) to the service itself implies a homogeneous infrastructure, and often means that such systems are very sensitive. If the implementation of the service (i.e. software module) is changed at either side (i.e., by the client or the remote host), the other side may become inoperative.
An example of such a system and method for distributed computer automotive service equipment is described in International Application No. WO 99/23783 to Snap-on Technologies, Inc. wherein computerized automotive service equipment is adapted to access one or more remotely located computer systems to retrieve or exchange the data and/or software necessary to analyze and diagnose a vehicle undergoing service using DCOM and ActiveX(trademark) technology. For example, in the WO 99/23783 application, raw data from vehicle wheel alignment sensors mounted on a vehicle wheel is received on a local computer, and then transmitted to a remote system over a network wherein the raw data is processed and vehicle wheel alignment angles returned over the network to the local computer for display to a technician. Additionally disclosed is the transfer and exchange of vehicle OEM specifications from a remote system over the network to the local computers. However, the system disclosed in the WO 99/23783 application is not robust and adaptable to changes. For example, using the DCOM technologies results in a tightly coupled system wherein changes to the software application at either end of a communications link, i.e. at the automotive service equipment or at the remote system, can result in an inability for the components to communicate.
Using DCOM technologies means it is very difficult to guarantee a single, unified infrastructure. There is no guarantee that the service (i.e. software module) which the wheel alignment system needs to communicate with at the remote system will have the proper infrastructure, i.e. it might have been modified for use with a different operating system, object model, or updated with a new programming language, resulting in an incompatibility between the wheel alignment system and the remote system.
Service-orientated systems, such as those utilizing ONC RPC, DCE, COM, COBRA, RMI, and JINI(trademark) protocols, generally require special protocols for communications. For example, a COM client must use the COM protocols to communication with a COM service. A JINI client must use the JINI protocols to communicate with a JINI service. Such special communications protocols are not common on the Internet, and firewalls routinely block the communication.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,233 to Cherrington et al. discloses a closed system for an integrated, highly automated, vehicle analysis system employing at least one technician terminal for displaying a plurality of inspection screens and for entering inspection results from which a report is generated. The ""233 Cherrington et al. technician terminal may be coupled to a point-of-sale terminal through a network, which is used to generate a cost estimate report in response to an inspection report generated by the technician terminal. The ""233 Cherrington et al. system includes a plurality of electronic databases for storing vehicle specifications, customer records, and a parts catalog database. Additionally disclosed in the ""233 Cherrington et al. system is the interconnection between a plurality of point-of-sale terminals and a central server for the purpose of storing customer records and vehicle inspection reports in a central location. The ""233 Cherrington et al. system is a completely closed system, in that it requires specific software applications to be in place on each element of the system, and changes to one element will render it incompatible with the remaining elements.
Emerging Internet technology, such as Microsoft xe2x80x9c.NETxe2x80x9d technology and also Sun(trademark) Open Net Environment (Sun ONE) Software Architecture, shifts the focus from individual web sites and specific remote computers storing information to new constellations of computers, devices, and services which work together. Using Microsoft xe2x80x9c.NETxe2x80x9d and Sun ONE technology, hereinafter collectively referred to as xe2x80x9cdotxe2x80x9d-NET or NET, computers, devices, and services are able to collaborate directly with each other, enabling access to a user""s data and compatible applications anywhere and from a wide variety of compatible device. Specifically, xe2x80x9cdotxe2x80x9d-NET technology joins the tightly coupled, highly productive aspects of traditional n-tier computing networks and systems, such as is seen in the WO 99/23783 application and the ""233 Cherrington et al. patent discussed above, with the loosely coupled, message-orientated concepts of the Web to produce a style of computing known as Web Services Software Components.
A Web Service is a software application that exposes its features programmatically over the Internet or other computer network using a standard Internet communications protocol such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or Extensible Markup Language (XML). Web Services Software Components can be utilized in software applications by calling Web application program interfaces (API""s) just as they would call local services, with the difference being that the call is now routed across the Internet or other network to a service residing on a remote system.
In contrast to traditional tightly coupled systems utilizing DCOM and related technologies, Web Services Software Components employing xe2x80x9cdotxe2x80x9d-NET technology are loosely coupled. This means that changes to the software applications at either end of a connection will not affect the operation of the system. Web Services Software Components achieve this loose coupling by employing message-based asynchronous technology and Web protocols such as HTTP, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), and XML. Messaging systems wrap the fundamental units of communication into self-describing packages for transmission over the Internet or network. The only assumption a message sender makes about a message receiver in a message-based system is that the recipient will be able to understand the message being sent. The sender makes no assumptions about what will happen once the message is received, nor about what goes on between the sender and the receiver.
In contrast, the traditional tightly-coupled DCOM and related technology systems, the sender makes many assumptions about a communication receiver, and in particular, about how a software application or module will be activated and torn down, what the various elements in its interface are called, and so on.
The advantages of the Web Services Software Component message-based communication scheme are readily apparent. It enables a recipient to change a software application at any time without affecting a sender so long as the software application can continue to understand the communicated messages. The receiver is free to upgrade and improve without affecting current applications. Furthermore, the sender doesn""t require any special software to be able to communicate with a receiver.
The xe2x80x9cdotxe2x80x9d-NET framework within which Web Services Software Components are implemented consists of three main parts: the common language runtime, a hierarchical set of unified class libraries, and an advanced version of Active Server Pages called ASP+. The common language runtime is responsible for notifications, managing memory allocation, starting up and destroying threads and processes, enforcing security policy, and satisfying any dependencies that a software component may have on other software components. The xe2x80x9cdotxe2x80x9d-NET runtime provides a unified environment across a wide variety of programming languages and hardware types. Similarly, the unified class libraries (API""s) found in the xe2x80x9cdotxe2x80x9d-NET framework unify the disparate frameworks found in the various object oriented programming languages in use today. Developers of C++ traditionally use the Microsoft Foundation Classes, developers of Java use the Windows Foundation Classes, and developers of Visual Basic use Visual Basic APIs. By creating a common set of APIs across all programming languages, the xe2x80x9cdotxe2x80x9d-NET framework enables cross-language inheritance, error-handling, and debugging. Finally, ASP+ builds on the programming classes of the xe2x80x9cdotxe2x80x9d-NET framework to provide a Web application model in the form of a set of controls and infrastructure, such as interface components, session state management, and process recycling.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop a vehicle wheel alignment system which integrates a loosely coupled software application infrastructure with large scale local or global computer networks such as the Internet to provide a more efficient and accurate system than is currently available. Specifically, it is desirable to develop wheel alignment systems utilizing the xe2x80x9cdotxe2x80x9d-NET framework and software applications having black-box functionality which may be reused without concern for how the service is implemented, by providing well-defined user interfaces. In this manner, vehicle wheel alignment software applications can be assembled from a variety of components as needed, consisting of remote services accessed via the Internet, local services, and custom software written in an intermediate computer language. These remote and local services and custom software applications may further utilize a standard xe2x80x9cdotxe2x80x9d-NET framework or information exchange protocol, such as Microsoft""s Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) to exchange information over the Internet.
Briefly stated, an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention is of an improved wheel alignment system which includes at least one conventional sensing device for acquiring automotive data, interface circuitry in communication with the sensing device for generating data representative of automotive data acquired by the sensing device, and a computer in communication with the interface circuitry. The computer is configured to provide integrated network access and to use xe2x80x9cdotxe2x80x9d-NET technology to utilize a variety of software applications or components, and collections of stored information, to perform a sequence of operations on the data generated by the interface circuitry to provide vehicle wheel alignment information.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention as well as presently preferred embodiments thereof will become more apparent from the reading of the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings.